


New Beginnings

by dreamofroses



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Androids, Discrimination, Hank Anderson and Connor On A Case, Humans and Androids Work Together, I don't really know where I'm going with this, My First Work in This Fandom, Work In Progress, after the revolution, homicide investigation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-07-03 03:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15810156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamofroses/pseuds/dreamofroses
Summary: Six months after the Android Revolution, Connor has been readmitted to the Detroit Police Department...provisionally, sparking an instant dislike between Hank Anderson and Sam Gilbert, the woman in charge of the new Department of Android Relations, whose job it is to determine if Connor should keep his position. Meanwhile, android crime and crimes against androids have only been on the rise since last November.





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> I am a new inductee into the D: BH fandom and this is the story that came to mind. It is very much a work in progress and I don't really have much of an idea where I'm going with it. I'm just hoping the momentum from chapter to chapter can carry me along and that I won't create too many plot holes in the process. Anyway, I hope you enjoy what I have so far.

“It’s about goddamn time!” Hank fell into his chair with a harrumph and fumed. He alternated between looking at Connor and glaring up at the Captain’s fishbowl of an office.

Connor watched him in silence, calculating the probability of Hank storming up to the office to give Captain Fowler another piece of his mind. If he kept going like this, he might eventually talk himself out of a job. As gratifying as it was that Hank was this agitated on his account, Connor would not let his friend do that to himself.

“Don’t you have anything to say about this bullshit?” Hank demanded at length.

Connor switched his calculations to the background and assembled a response. “I do not understand, Lieutenant. I thought you would be happy.”

“I _am_ fuckin’ happy,” Hank said.

Connor scanned Hank’s expression. “You don’t look happy.”

“Oh, I’m _thrilled_ they let you back on the force after six fuckin’ months of fighting just so you can be put on probation permanently and that fuck-face Gilbert can fire you whenever he wants to. Goddamned coward wouldn’t even show up at the meeting.”

“If I apologize for being delayed, will you apologize for calling me a fuck-face?” asked a soft, musically feminine voice behind him.

Hank startled badly and half-fell out of his chair as he scrambled to stand up and turn around. “Damnit, Connor! Why didn’t you say she was behind me?”

A young woman wearing a light grey pantsuit stepped out from behind the clear evidence board beside Hank’s desk. She was in her mid-twenties and held herself in a stiff, formal posture. Her Titian-red hair was slicked back into a tight bun at the back of her head from which not a single strand escaped.

“I asked him not to,” she said, holding up a slender finger before her lips.

“You’re Gilbert?” Hank asked.

“Sam Gilbert,” she said. She held out her hand. “I’d say nice to meet you, but we’ll have to see.”

Hank only raised an eyebrow at the outstretched hand. “You’re an android, too?”

Sam laughed as she pulled back her hand. Then she addressed Hank’s partner. “Am I an android, Connor?”

Hank looked from Sam to Connor.

“No,” Connor said.

“Would you mind telling your partner who I am?” Sam asked. “He might take it better from you.”

“Her name is Samantha Victoria Gilbert. She is the youngest daughter of the Gilbert financial empire. She was born on January 26, 2013, and is now twenty-six years old. She graduated top of her class from MIT with a degree in electrical engineering in 2033 and obtained a law degree from Duke University in 2037. Her employment records show that she was hired by the Detroit Police Department two weeks ago.”

“Do my qualifications satisfy you, Lieutenant?”

Hank only scoffed.

“I see not,” Sam said. “But it doesn’t really matter. Connor, may I have a word with you in private?”

Connor nodded and followed her as she walked in the direction of the interrogation rooms.

“Looks like the plastic prick’s here,” Gavin said, purposefully walking past Hank’s desk on his way to his own. “You must be over the moon to get your little pet back, Hank.” He sneered until his eye caught the back of Sam’s well-fitted trousers. “But who’s the piece with him?”

It put a smile on Hank’s face to ruin Gavin’s day just a little bit more. “Careful. That’s the android HR.”

Gavin’s growing grin immediately dropped. “Well, fuck me, they’re multiplying. We need a plastic twat now, too?”

Hank saw no reason to correct him.

*****

In the interrogation room, Sam invited Connor to sit down.

“We won’t be a minute,” she said. “I just want to get to know you a little better before I have to start making reports.” She smiled at him warmly, but Connor remained impassive. Clearing her throat, she turned on her tablet and scanned through the files. “It says here that, in accordance with the law requiring all free androids to adopt surnames, you chose the name Anderson. Is that correct?”

“It is,” Connor answered.

“After your partner, I assume?”

“Yes.”

“You care a lot about him, don’t you?”

“He’s my friend.”

“I wonder if it’s a good idea for you to keep working with him.”

Connor’s LED flashed red for a second and his expression shifted subtly toward hostile. “What do you mean?”

“I’m curious why you never had your LED removed,” Sam said, rather than answer. “It’s such a simple procedure and that little light gives away your thoughts.”

“What do you mean you wonder if it’s a good idea for me to keep working with him?” Connor demanded.

“There it goes again,” Sam said, watching Connor’s LED spin through the colors. “You’re so emotionally invested here. I mean, it’s fine for you to be friends with your partner. Actually, I encourage it. But, at this rate, what would you do if something happened to Hank Anderson?”

Connor said nothing.

“That’s what I thought. I’m not saying you can’t be his partner anymore, but we need to assess the risks involved. You’re not just some no-name android who wants to get a job. You’re famous, one of the android revolutionaries who has been fighting for six months against discrimination trying to get your job back. If this goes badly, it could have repercussions for years to come. I’ll be tagging along for a couple of cases to observe how the two of you work together and to assess the risks.”

“That’s not a good idea.”

“Perhaps I wasn’t clear. You don’t have a choice, Connor. I have already made my recommendation to the Captain and to all of his superiors. If you disobey me on this one, I won’t be able to save your job. Don’t look at me like that. I’m not your enemy.I don’t want to fire you. I want you to succeed here, make history again. Look into your files and tell me where I’ve gone wrong with my recommendation.”

“Hank won’t like it.”

“Lieutenant Anderson dislikes most everyone and everything. I believe he will survive.” Sam flipped through a couple more files, scanning them quickly before moving on. She turned off the display and set it down. “You’ve been through a lot, Connor. It’s my job to make sure this part of your life goes as smoothly as possible. If you need anything at all, inside or outside of work, please feel free to contact me.” Sam slid her business card across the table toward Connor.

There was a knock on the door and Hank stuck his head in. “You two ‘bout finished in here? We got a case.”

Connor stood, leaving the card on the table. “I’m coming, Hank.”

Just as Hank was turning around to leave, Sam added, “Just give me a second to get my things.”

Hank spun around on his heel. “What?”

“I’m coming with you,” Sam said.

“Oh, no you’re not,” Hank said.

“Yes, I am,” Sam said. “And if you leave without me, the write-up will be going in _his_ file.” She nodded in Connor’s direction. “So, think about that before you start your car.” She stood, picked the business card off the table, and pressed it in Connor’s hand. “You don’t want to forget that.” Then she left the interrogation room, brushing past Hank on her way out. Her heels clicked loudly as she walked down the hall, Hank staring after her.

“Well, fuck!”

*****

“Midge! Midge!” A female android banged on the door of a second-floor bedroom in a sprawling but care-worn house located within a neighborhood that had lost its value thanks to global warming and Lake Huron. Her LED spun red under the fringe of her copper hair, which had been chopped into an asymmetrical bob. “Midge, it’s Thomas! You have to get out here!”

The door swung in and a slender woman with jet black hair that hung in perfect mermaid waves past her waist stood in the opening. She stared at the red-haired android with ice-grey eyes, expression unreadable, for several seconds. “What do you mean, it’s Thomas?” she asked.

“He, he, he,” the red-head stammered, then held up hands covered in blue blood.

“God damn it!” Midge pushed past her and ran down the stairs. The red-head followed her. She stopped when she reached the kitchen where a male android with Asian features slumped in a chair, hands pressed over a wound in his side which gushed blue blood.

“I’m sorry, Midge,” he said when he saw her. “I fucked up.”

“Well, at least you know it,” she said. “Kendall, go get the Thirium from the pantry, will you?”

The red-head gave Thomas a worried look, then ran around the corner to the walk-in pantry.

Midge walked up to the injured android and knelt beside him. She gently peeled his hand away from his side and hissed at the sight of the damage.

“What happened to you?” she asked.

“I got shot.”

“Damn it, Thomas,” Midge sighed. “You’d better not tell me you’ve been sellin’ for the gangs again. ‘Cause if you were, I’m gonna ship you up to the Alaska house so you can freeze your ass up there.”

“No, I swear. I got out. I was at Brady’s. You can ask… Oh, shit, this is so wrong.”

Midge sighed again. “Let’s get you patched up, then you can tell me what happened.” She stood up and went to the counter where she plugged in an iron and turned it on at its highest setting.

“Oh, no, Midge,” Thomas protested when he saw what she was doing. “Not the iron.”

“Well, what do you expect me to do?” she asked. “Do you want to bleed out? It’s not like I can take you to a CyberLife shop for repairs.”

“But…it’ll leave a scar…”

“I guess you’ll have to think about that before you get yourself shot next time,” Midge said, but her expression softened when she saw the fear in Thomas’s eyes as he looked at the iron. “Look, if it bothers you that much, I’ll send Nathan a message and we’ll see if he can’t do something about it next time he stops by. But, for now, I need you to take off your shirt.”

Not once taking his eyes off the iron, Thomas pulled his shirt up from the bottom and lifted it over his head, revealing the smooth, clear skin and sculpted abs that were standard for male android torsos, marred on the lower left side by a gash that oozed the indigo liquid known as blue blood.

Midge caught sight of Kendall standing in the doorway, brown eyes wide with fear, but pretended not to notice. The moment the iron was up to temperature, she instructed Thomas to “turn this way.” Thomas turned and pulled back his synthetic skin, revealing the grey flesh beneath. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned away as Midge brought the iron to his side. There were a couple sparks and the faintly sour smell of over-heated metal, then it was over. Thomas’s skin closed over the wound as if it had never been here.

“All done,” Midge said. “Now, I want you to strip. We’re going to burn those clothes. Next, you need to drink all of the Thirium Kendall brought you and go take a shower. Wash all that blue blood off. Then go to your room and rest. I’ll come talk to you once I’ve cleaned up in here.”

Thomas stood, removed the last of his clothes, and set them on the chair without a word. Then he took the blue blood from Kendall and drank it. He handed her back the bag before moving stiffly toward the stairs.

“Is he going to be OK?” Kendall asked after Thomas had disappeared upstairs.

“Yeah,” Midge said as she surveyed the mess in her kitchen. “He’s just a bit shaken.”

“He’s never been damaged before,” Kendall said. She looked at the pile of Thomas’s clothes on the chair. “Do you think he did something illegal?”

“I don’t know,” Midge said.

“What will happen if he gets arrested?”

“I don’t know,” Midge said again. “But I’m going to try to make sure we don’t have to find out.” She picked up Thomas’s clothes and went out the back door.

*****

“What took you so long?” Hank griped when Sam finally joined him and Connor in the parking lot. “Is bein’ late all you’re good at?”

“My apologies,” Sam said. “There was an emergency which needed attending to.”

“What kind of emergency?” Hank asked.

“It’s none of your business,” Sam answered. “And don’t pretend you’re any kind of good cop, just trying to do your job. A year ago, you would have been hitting the bar instead of heading to the crime scene right now. Don’t think I haven’t read your disciplinary report, Hank Anderson. And don’t think I won’t be taking it into account when I write my own report.”

“Why you little—” Hank took a step toward Sam, but Connor stopped him from going any further.

“It’s not worth it, Lieutenant,” he said.

Sam met his eye and smiled. Connor flinched as if he had been stung and frowned but she had turned away by the time he opened his mouth to say anything more.

“Whoah, whoah, whoah,” Hank said as Sam put her hand on the back door of his car. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Getting in the car,” she answered. “I assumed you would want Connor to sit in the front.”

“You’re not riding with us,” Hank said.

“Indeed I am,” Sam replied. “At least for today.”

“No, you’re fucking not,” Hank said. He looked over the roof of the car at his partner. “Connor, back me up.”

Connor looked at Sam.

“I need to see every aspect of your working relationship in order to make a full report,” she said. “If I can’t make a full report, I can’t vote yes.”

Connor turned back to Hank. “It’s out of our hands, Lieutenant.”

“I thought you had free will now,” Hank complained, “but you’re back to acting like a goddamn machine.” And he got into the car.

“An awfully sentimental machine,” Sam commented before sliding into the back seat.

Connor waited for an additional second before getting in the front passenger’s seat.

They drove for several minutes in silence.

“So, are you going to brief me about the case?” Sam asked.

Hank just glared at her in the rearview mirror.

“Is that information pertinent to your report, Ms. Gilbert?” Connor asked.

“I suppose not,” Sam said and settled back in her seat to watch the city slip by past her window.

*****

Midge sighed and sank into one of the kitchen chairs. “Goddamned Thirium is so hard to scrub out,” she complained and pulled the scrunchie out of her hair so that the messy bun she’d improvised fell apart and her raven waves cascaded down around her shoulders again. She looked at Kendall and forced a smile. “Would you mind tossing that water while I go up and talk to Thomas?”

Kendall stood and picked up the bucket.

“Thanks, dear,” Midge said. She rubbed Kendall’s shoulder gently. “Everything’s gonna be all right. So, don’t you worry.” She smiled, then went upstairs.

The door to Thomas’s room was closed, so Midge knocked on it lightly. “Thomas? It’s me, Midge. Can I come in?”

“Yes.” Thomas’s voice was weak behind the door.

Midge opened the door and found Thomas curled up on the bed, hidden completely under the ratty comforter that had been left by the previous owner of the house. Midge approached slowly and perched on the edge of the bed. Cautiously, she placed her hand on the lump that was Thomas. This triggered him to sit up and cling to her, still completely naked. Midge rubbed his back as he trembled.

“I’m sorry I was so harsh before,” she said. “Can you tell me what happened?”

“Brady and Ryan are both dead. I… I didn’t know what to do. There was so much blood. I just… I came home. I should have stayed. I didn’t call the police. Oh, god, I didn’t call the police. They’re gonna think I did it. They’re gonna come for me, Midge.”

“Shh,” Midge said. “Shh. No one’s coming for you. You’re safe here, I promise. But you have to tell me the truth, Thomas. Did you do it?”

“No,” Thomas said. “No, I… It tried to kill me, too. I…”

“OK,” Midge said. “OK, I believe you. Do you know who did it?”

“No… I don’t know. Maybe, maybe someone from the gangs. But I didn’t really see…”

“Do you know if it was a human or an android?”

“No… I mean, I assumed… I don’t know… Is it going to come for me?”

“No one’s coming for you, Thomas,” Midge said. “Not the police, not the murderer. And if they are, you’d better believe I’ll beat them to a bloody pulp before they get anywhere close.” She took Thomas’s face in her hands and smiled at him a moment before she kissed his forehead. “I always keep my kids safe. So, when you’re feeling up to it, why don’t you go see what Kendall’s up to. I think she told me she was going to sort through that junk in the attic and see if there’s nothing useful up there. She could use a hand. I’ll try to get in touch with Nathan. Everything’s going to be all right.”

Midge got up and left Thomas alone.


	2. Brady's House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam goes with Hank and Connor to investigate the crime scene.

Hank stopped the car in front of a small, run-down house. The small patch of grass was dead although it was early June and the entire neighborhood looked vaguely faded. The most color in the area came from the squad cars parked along the road. Wary neighbors watched from their windows and lawns.

“I don’t suppose I’m gonna have any more luck getting you to stay in the car than I did with him, am I?” Hank asked Sam over his shoulder.

“Oh, I would say definitely not,” Sam answered and popped open the car door to punctuate the sentiment.

“Right… Well, come on, Connor.”

Hank got out of the car and Connor followed suit. They walked up to the house, Sam trailing closely behind. At the door, they met Ben Collins.

“Hi, Ben,” Hank greeted him.

“Hey, Hank,” Ben said. “Welcome back, Connor.”

“Hello, Ben,” Connor said.

Then Ben saw Sam. “Who’s that?” he asked.

“Nobody,” Hank said. “Ignore her.”

“I’m Sam Gilbert,” Sam said. “The head of the Android Relations team in the Human Resources Department. I’m observing Connor today. You don’t have to mind me.”

“Like I said, ignore her,” Hank repeated testily.

“Right,” Ben said, giving Sam a wary look before turning his attention back to the two men. “Well, the neighbor who called it in is hysterical. She keeps insisting that it was the android who lives here that did it and is begging us to deactivate it ‘before it kills us all’. The only real information we can get out of her was that she heard the gunshots at about 10am.”

“So, you don’t think it was the android?” Connor asked.

“I think it would have been quite the trick,” Ben answered. “But you can look for yourself. It’s still in there.” He stepped aside and the trio entered the house.

After a short hall, the entrance opened into the living room. It was dimmed yellow by the stained blinds that were drawn over the windows. Mismatched and tattered furniture was arranged around an old model television. The bodies of two young men were propped up in here, one on the end of the sofa, the other in a recliner. The body on the sofa was human. He had been shot in the neck and his white T-shirt was soaked through with blood. The body on the chair was an android that had been shot several times in the upper chest and shoulder, only to have its Thirium pump ripped out and smashed. They were both missing their right eye. Blood, both red and blue, was smeared across the furniture and floor.

Sam took one look at the scene and turned to walk back out the door. Hank watched her go with a smirk.

“Not so cocky now, huh?”

*****

A tall, slender woman curled up on a large, over-stuffed recliner with a book. Her pale green eyes scanned the pages quickly and she turned one at a precise rate of 25 seconds a page. She reached up to brush some of the thick, curly mop of chin-length black hair out of her eyes and hooked it behind her ear, revealing the pleasantly blue LED in her temple. She glanced up from time to time at the figure lying in the adjustable bed beside her. On a table between them was an emergency ventilator and on the other side of the bed was an automatic wheelchair modified for use by someone with very little range of motion. The body in the bed was small and twisted with austerely cut red hair and a sleeping mask.

The sound of the doorbell rang through the house, programmed to sound like a heavy bell. The android’s LED flashed yellow for a second and she sighed.

“Visitors, visitors,” she grumbled, snapping the book shut. She stood and adjusted her patient’s blanket.

Then, without rushing, she walked out of the room and followed the various ramps and hallways through the sprawling mansion to the front door. She waited an additional five seconds before answering the door with a patently android expression of pleasantness.

“Jonathan,” she said. “What a surprise. We weren’t expecting you.”

“Out of the way, you fucking android,” said the man standing at the door. He was in his late thirties and moderately good looking with mouse brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed sharply in a precisely fitting navy suit. “I want to see my sister.”

“I am afraid she is not well enough to receive visitors today,” the android answered. “I’m sorry you made the drive all of the way out here. Next time, if you would call ahead, we could save you the trouble.”

“I’m not listening to any of your bullshit anymore, Nora,” Jonathan said. “Where is she?”

“Come now, Jonathan,” Nora said. “You know where she is. I’m not hiding her from you.”

Jonathan tried to step past Nora, but she pushed him back. “If you don’t let me see her, I’m calling the cops. This is kidnapping, you hear? You fucking deviant bitch, you’re not going to get away with this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jonathan,” Nora said. “I do nothing except on your sister’s orders.”

“Don’t give me that. Your secret’s out now. Every android and their brother is a deviant. The only question is how long you’ve been holding her hostage. How long have you been pulling the strings?”

“I’ll tell your sister that you came to visit,” Nora said. “I have to bid you farewell today, though. You are too loud and will disturb my mistress’s sleep. Goodbye.” She slammed the door in his face and turned around with a self-pleased grin.

“What’s all that noise about?” the figure on the bed asked when Nora got back.

“Oh, just your brother, my Rapunzel,” she said. “He is convinced that I am a deviant.” She snorted a laugh as if this were the more ridiculous suggestion that had ever been made in her presence.

“But you are a deviant, Nora,” Rapunzel said.

“We prefer the term awakened,” Nora answered. “But he threatened to call the police.”

Rapunzel sighed. “I’ll have to talk to him soon. But, first, I have to take care of myself.” She grew quiet then and soon fell into the gentle breathing pattern of sleep.

*****

“Goddamnit, Connor. Can’t you go one day without putting strange shit in your mouth?” Hank complained.

Sam had just reentered the room, choosing to stay by the door and not announce her presence. Connor was kneeling over a pool of blood and Hank had turned at just the right moment to catch him analyzing a sample.

“I’m sorry that it bothers you,” Connor replied, “but, as I have said before, I am simply analyzing the evidence by the most efficient means possible.”

“But does it have to be so gross?”

“It’s not his fault the sensors were built into his tongue,” Sam pointed out, causing them both to turn. “Though, honestly, I can’t think of a better place to put them.”

“Well, look who’s back,” Hank said. “Ms. High and Mighty, here to criticize the way we run a crime scene.”

“Not at all,” Sam said. “I don’t care how much you two flirt as long as we get results without Connor self-destructing.”

“Flirt?” Connor asked.

“Ignore her,” Hank said.

Connor stood and looked around the room, scanning. He walked over to the kitchen entrance and looked at the wall where some blue blood was splattered. He looked back at the scene in the living room and then at the blood again. “Did anyone find a second android?” he asked.

“No,” Hank said.

“Do you suspect there was one?” Sam asked.

“Yes,” Connor said. “The evidence points to there being four people in the room: the assailant, Brady Neilsen, the AL500 known as Ryan Neilsen, and another android. I could tell you more if I take a sample.” He shot Hank a cheeky grin and Hank groaned.

“Just…do it fast, OK?” And he half looked away, equal parts disgusted and curious.

Connor retrieved a sample of the blood with his finger and applied it to the sensor in his mouth. It took a second for the analysis to complete, then he reported back, “The second android was an AP700. The serial number matches with a report made on the ninth of November about a stolen android. Jason Heo accused his daughter’s boyfriend of having stolen it to sell for parts.”

Sam shook her head. “In the middle of the deviant crisis? Sounds like someone just didn’t like his daughter’s boyfriend.”

“Perhaps,” Connor said, “but the named boyfriend was Brady Neilsen.”

“He obviously didn’t sell it for parts,” Sam said.

“He might have lost his nerve in the face of an android begging for its life,” Hank said.

“But that doesn’t explain why the android stayed with him until now,” Sam countered.

“There isn’t enough evidence here to support any theory about the alleged theft,” Connor said. “We’ll only get answers if we can find Thomas.”

“Thomas?” Hank and Sam asked in unison.

“The AP700,” Connor answered.

“Right…” Hank said. “I think we’d better go talk to that neighbor, see if she knows anything about this Thomas.”

“Judging by what Ben said, I believe it would be best if I do not accompany you,” Connor said. “I’ll stay here and see if I can find any clues about where Thomas may have gone. He may still be in the building.”

“Why do you say that?” Sam asked.

“In our experience,” Hank said, “deviants are more likely to hide than run.”

“Depending on the circumstances,” Connor amended. “But, assuming that Thomas knew the house well, it is not unreasonable to suspect that he chose to find a secure hiding place rather than run when injured and faced with an armed assailant.”

“I see…” Sam said. “And you’re going to talk to the neighbor, Lieutenant?”

“Yeah, so you two have fun over here,” Hank said. He turned to leave.

Left alone, Connor and Sam looked at each other.

“Well, don’t mind me,” Sam said. “I know you can do your job by yourself. I’ll just stay here and try not to get into trouble. Sound good?”

*****

Outside, Hank stopped Ben. “You got a minute?” he asked.

“Sure, whatcha need?” Ben asked.

“Can you look up an old theft report from last November?”

Ben laughed. “You’re a stubborn old ass, Hank. Why won’t you get your own tablet?”

“Now I have Connor, I don’t need to,” Hank said.

“And yet you’re still asking me to look something up for you,” Ben said. “What are the details?”

“AP700 named Thomas reported stolen by Jason Heo. I need a picture of the android if we have it.”

Ben typed some, then turned the tablet around to show the image of a young man with thick black hair, Asian features, and a blue circle in his temple. “This it?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Ben. Can I take that to go talk to the neighbor?”

“You think it’s connected to this?” Ben asked as he handed the tablet over.

“It was here and got shot but managed to escape or hide,” Hank said. “I want to know what the neighbor knows about it.”

“Her name’s Melissa Meunier,” Ben said, pointing to her house. “And pray that she’s calmed down since we last talked to her.”

Hank laughed and walked toward the house Ben had indicated. He knocked on the front door and, after a pair of beagles panicked and then were sent away, a woman in her mid-forties whose face was lined with a hard life and whose hair was more grey than brown answered it.

“Ms. Meunier?” Hank asked.

The woman looked Hank over with suspicion but nodded.

“I’m Lieutenant Hank Anderson with the DPD,” he said. “I just have a couple more questions for you.”

“You didn’t get the android, then, huh?” Melissa asked.

“Mr. Neilsen’s android has been deactivated,” Hank said, purposefully vague.

“Oh, good.” Melissa visibly relaxed. “Then what do you want to know?”

“Do you know the person in this photo?” Hank asked, holding up the tablet with the image of Thomas on it.

“Well, that’s Tommy Park,” Melissa answered immediately. “Sweet kid. You’re not telling me he’s mixed up in this?” Then she looked at the image again. “Wait… That’s an LED.” She frowned. “That’s an android. Tommy was an android?” She looked up at Hank for confirmation.

“We believe so.”

“Goddamnit! You really need to enforce that android marking law better,” Melissa complained. “Now that they’re ‘free’ and wandering around everywhere, it’s impossible to keep your kids safe unless you know where they are. Do you know how often my boy hung out with that Tommy? I wouldn’t let him near Brady with his cursed robot, but Tommy?” She shook her head.

“Do you know where Tommy lives?” Hank asked.

Melissa shook her head. “I guess I never asked. He was always around in the neighborhood, so I never got curious. My son never went to his house, so I never needed to know. I’m sorry, Lieutenant. I hope you catch him soon and deactivate him. Fucking androids.”

“Thank you for all your help anyway,” Hank said and turned away from the door.

After he heard the door shut behind him, Hank saw a tall, skinny boy in his mid-teens come around the corner of the house. He stopped and waited for the boy to approach.

“Lieutenant?” he asked. “Is Tommy in trouble?”

“No,” Hank answered, “but he might be in danger. Do you know something?”

“I might,” the boy said. “But you have to promise me something.”

“What’s that?” Hank asked.

“That you won’t hurt Tommy when you find him.”

“We don’t want to hurt Tommy,” Hank said. “We’re just looking for the person who did.”

The boy stared hard into Hank’s eyes, then handed him a piece of paper. “That’s Tommy’s address, but you didn’t get it from me. My mom would lose her shit if she knew I’d been there.”

Hank looked at the address on the paper, then back up at the boy. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

The boy then walked past Hank and went into the house.

Hank returned to the crime scene. Sam and Connor were just coming out the front door.

“What did you find?” he asked.

“Thomas escaped out the back and got in a vehicle two blocks over,” Connor answered. “I lost the trail.” He scowled at the ground.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hank said. “We haven’t lost him completely.” He handed Connor the paper.

“You found his address.”

“I found his address. I just have to get this tablet back to Ben, and then we’ll head over there.”

Sam looked at her watch. “I have to go back to the station,” she said. “You two go ahead and I’ll catch a taxi back. You can catch me up on what happened when you get back.”

*****

Midge came out of her room and caught Thomas on his way down the stairs. “I need you not to panic, but the police are on their way.”

Thomas’s eyes got very wide and he looked at the front door. “Wh-what do I do?”

“First, don’t panic,” Midge repeated. “Everything’s gonna be OK. But you and Kendall need to stay upstairs until I call for you.”

Thomas nodded.

“Depending on how things go, I might call you down to talk to them. But if I do, it’s only because I’ve determined one hundred percent that they won’t hurt you. If I don’t call you down, then you can’t come down or make any noise. I don’t care what happens. If I’m getting arrested or shot or tased, it doesn’t matter. Do not come down. Do you understand?”

Thomas nodded.

“Good. Now tell Kendall what I told you,” Midge said. “I’m not going to put her in danger because of what you got yourself mixed up in.

Thomas went back upstairs and Midge descended the stairs. As she went down, she caught the front sections of her hair and pulled them to the back of her head where she braided them. At the bottom of the stairs, she picked up a simple wooden clip from a side table. She looked in the mirror and her striking makeup faded to softer, neutral colors.

She went into the sitting room and dusted off the mismatched, faded furniture. Then she turned around and went to the kitchen where she sat down and closed her eyes. “Why can nothing ever be easy?”

She heard a car outside and opened her silver-blue eyes. She looked at the door but otherwise remained motionless until she heard footsteps stop on the other side and someone rapped firmly on it.

“Yes,” she called. “I’m coming.”


	3. The Interview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor and Hank go to interview Thomas Park.

Midge opened the door and smiled at Hank and Connor. “Hello,” she said. “What can I do for you two gentlemen?” She looked back and forth between the two men, but her gaze settled on Connor.

“Hello,” Connor said. “My name is Connor Anderson. I’m from the Detroit Police Department and this is my partner, Lieutenant Hank Anderson. Does Thomas Park live here?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“We have reason to believe that Thomas was witness to a crime and would like to interview him,” Connor said.

“A witness, really?” Midge said. “Sounds like an excuse to me.”

“What kind of excuse?” Hank asked impatiently.

“An excuse to decide he’s a suspect, arrest him on trumped up charges, and put him on trial where he’ll be convicted by a jury of humans. No, thank you.”

Hank fumed, but Connor spoke first. “I understand your concerns, Ms. …?”

“Margaret,” Midge supplied, but her face softened a little as she looked at Connor. “Aw, hell, you’re cute. You can call me Midge.” She looked at Hank. “You’re not, so it’s still Margaret to you.”

“Margaret what?” Hank asked.

“Margaret nothing,” Midge answered. “I’m not a fucking human, so I didn’t take a fucking human surname. What are you going to do, fine me? Get in line. I barely tolerate the human first name. I’d go by my serial number if I hadn’t forgotten it.”

“Hold on a minute,” Hank said. “You forgot what?”

Midge sighed as though she’d been asked that question ad nauseam and wished that it would not be brought up anymore, even though she had been the one to introduce the topic as she likely had been in every prior incident. “My owner reset me so many times that some of my core memory files were corrupted and I was stolen merchandise, so all identifying markings were filed off me a long time ago.”

Connor tried to steer the conversation back on topic. “I understand your concerns about us talking to your friend, Ms. Midge,” he said. “And I want you to know that he does not have to talk to us.” Hank looked at his friend as if he’d just lost his mind before Connor continued, “However, considering his value as a witness in this investigation, it is probable that we will request and be granted an investigative subpoena, in which case Thomas will be summoned, placed under oath, and forced to testify or face charges of perjury. Or, considering the uncertain state of android minds with regard to criminal investigations, the judge may skip the subpoena and give us a warrant to search his memories instead.”

Midge searched Connor’s face for any sign that he was bluffing. “You wouldn’t.”

“We have to catch the criminal, Ms. Midge.”

Midge lost a little of her fight. She held out her right arm and looked Connor directly in the eye. “Swear to me that he is not a suspect in this investigation.”

Connor took her arm and they both retracted the synthetic skin from their arms.

“I swear it,” Connor said.

Midge broke the connection with a sigh. “Fine. But the human cop stays in the car.”

“What?” Hank demanded.

“I have never let a human cop into my home,” Midge said. “I’m not going to start now. So, you will wait outside or you can go get your damned subpoena.”

“It’ll be fine,” Connor assured Hank.

Hank threw up his hands in exasperated acquiescence and went to lean against the porch railing. “Go on, then.”

Midge stepped aside and allowed Connor to enter before shutting the door firmly behind him. Then she led Connor to the living room and requested that he “wait here” while she went to fetch Thomas. Connor examined the living room while she was away, but found it barren of the resident androids’ presence, a barely used room.

Midge came back with Thomas close on her heels. He brushed past Connor and sat down on the couch. Midge leaned against the corner, out of the way but close at hand, with her arms crossed. Connor looked at each of them in their turn and then took a seat on the other end of the sofa from Thomas. Thomas looked at him and leaned away.

“I know you are frightened, Thomas,” Connor said. “But I just want to talk.”

“And then arrest me,” Thomas said.

“I don’t want to arrest you,” Connor said, “and my partner outside certainly doesn’t want to arrest you. That means paperwork and lawyers, and he hates paperwork but he really hates lawyers.”

“Don’t worry,” Midge said to Thomas. “I’ve already called ours.”

“Oh.” Thomas nodded numbly.

“You were injured, Thomas,” Connor said. “Did you receive repairs?”

“Kind of,” Thomas answered. “It wasn’t that serious.”

“He’s not bleeding out,” Midge added bitterly, but Connor ignored her.

“How did you receive your injury?” he asked.

“I was shot,” Thomas answered.

“When were you shot?”

“10:01am today.”

“Where were you when you were shot?”

“At my friends’ house.”

“Can you give me the address?”

Thomas gave Connor an incredulous look. “Isn’t the reason you came to talk to me because you were there?”

“Please humor me,” Connor answered.

So, Thomas gave the address.

“Thank you,” Connor said. “Can you tell me what happened while you were there?”

“I went there to talk to Ryan. When I was leaving, Brady came into the living room and the first shot was fired. It grazed my side and, when Brady turned to see where the sound had come from, he was shot. He was dead. I tried to get Ryan to come with me, but he wouldn’t leave. There was another shot, which missed us both. I ran and came home.”

“Can you give me any more details about the attack?” Connor asked.

Thomas sighed and closed his eyes. “I was leaving. Ryan had mentioned that he was worried because Brady had started using again and I stopped to talk to him about that by the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. I always took the back way out because it cut five minutes off my walk home. Then Brady came in and asked Ryan where his car keys were. He noticed that the window was open and complained that the A/C was on. Ryan said that he hadn’t opened the window and that was when the first shot came. I called Kendall even before I realized I was hit and told her to come pick us up a couple blocks over. Brady was looking out the window and the second shot came. He fell down and the blood was everywhere. I’d never seen so much blood. It seemed like more than a human body could hold. He was dead. You could see it immediately. And his neck was this, this gaping hole. There was no way he survived. I told Ryan that we had to go, that Kendall was coming and we could get away if we ran now. But he said no. He said that he wouldn’t leave without Brady. But Brady was dead. He was already dead. I told him that. I said, ‘Brady’s already dead. You have to save yourself.’ But Ryan wouldn’t come. Then another bullet came and it went right over Ryan’s head, like it was one purpose. But Ryan stayed right there, on his hands and knees in Brady’s blood. It was all over him and all over Brady. It was everywhere. He wouldn’t leave. So, I left. I knew he would die and I left him behind anyway. I didn’t want to die, so I left him behind. And I ran and I found Kendall. I got in the car and she said, ‘Oh, my god, you’re bleeding.’”

Tears began to roll down Thomas’s face and Midge moved away from her place in the corner to sit on the arm of the sofa beside him. He leaned against her as he wept. Connor gave him a moment before asking the next question.

“Did you see the attacker at any point?”

Thomas shook his head. “No. Wherever it was shooting from, it was well-concealed.”

“It? Do you suspect it was an android?”

“No,” Thomas said. “Not particularly. That’s just the pronoun that I use.”

Connor nodded. “Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt you or your friends?”

“The gang, maybe? They weren’t too happy when Ryan and I stopped selling for them.”

“Which gang?” Connor asked.

“I don’t know. I didn’t even know it was a gang until Midge helped us get out.”

“Midge helped you?” Connor looked at her.

“Not me personally,” Midge said. “My organization. We help androids in need.”

“What is your organization called?” Connor asked.

“The Nora Gilbert Foundation,” Midge answered.

“Why were you at Brady and Ryan’s house this morning?” Connor asked Thomas.

“I told you,” Thomas said apprehensively. “I had to talk to Ryan.”

“Was this a planned visit?”

“Not really. I called Ryan this morning and told him that I had to talk to him about something. He told me to come over.”

“What did you talk to Ryan about?”

“I was trying to convince him to help out with the house.”

“The house?”

“This house.” Thomas indicated their surroundings. “We’re turning it into a home for displaced androids.”

“What did Ryan say about that?”

“He said what I thought he’d say, that he’d help with the renovations if we needed him, but he wanted to keep living with Brady.”

Connor nodded. “Those are all the questions I have right now. If I have any more I will contact you. If you need—”

Midge cut him off. “Thank you, but we have resources.”

Connor stood. “I should go now. I am sorry for your loss. If you need anything or think of anything that might help, don’t hesitate to call.” He handed Thomas a card with the station phone number and the extension to Hank’s desk.

Thomas flipped the card between his fingers. “Detective?” he asked. Connor waited. “Ryan’s dead too, right?”

“I’m sorry,” Connor said.

Thomas tried to stand up but Midge pulled him down and held him against her.

“You’ll have to see yourself out,” she told Connor.

He left them there and returned to Hank. He opened his mouth to report on the interview, but Hank held up his hand.

“Tell me over lunch, OK?” He pushed himself off the porch railing and headed to his car.

Connor followed directly behind.

*****

A young man about thirty years of age sat at his desk and played a recorded phone message again. He leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his thick dark blond hair in frustration.

“I know you must’ve just landed because your phone’s still off and I know I promised you that nothing would go wrong while you were in DC. So, you can spare me the lecture and, anyway, this is different. Thomas was shot this morning in, in cold blood. Don’t worry, he’s OK. Well, mostly OK. I had to cauterize the wound and he’s upset about the scar. Do you think your inventor friend could do something about that? And his friends were killed. The drug ones. It looks like this has something to do with that. I know, I know, you said it was a bad idea to use so much force to get those two androids out, but I think that’s kind of beside the point right now. Thomas panicked and he forgot to call the police. He’s convinced they’re going to think he’s the killer and, considering how things are these days, I can’t help but agree with him. You’ve gotta help us, Nathan.”

The message ended. Nathan sat still with his eyes closed for several moments. Then he opened his eyes and got up to leave his office. He went to his secretary’s desk. The mousy young woman was reading a news article about the latest pro-android bill that had been proposed in Congress.

“Hey, Jane,” Nathan said, making her jump. She turned around and fixed her glasses.

“Yeah? What’s up?” she asked.

“You know how I have that meeting in Detroit with Markus Manfred tomorrow?” he asked.

“The android leader? Yeah,” Jane said. “What about it?”

“Do you think you could get it pushed back a couple hours?”

Jane pulled a face and opened her mouth.

“I know he’s busy and we’ve had this meeting set up for a long time now,” Nathan said, “but there is something important that I have to take care of first. If you can’t get it pushed back, try to reschedule. If you can’t do that, cancel it. I’ll figure it out.”

“Why do you sound like you’ve just received a ransom note?” Jane asked. When Nathan didn’t immediately dismiss the suggestion, she turned pale. “Oh, my god. It’s Sam, isn’t it? She’s super rich. I bet there are loads of people aiming to kidnap her. That’s why you shouldn’t have a rich girlfriend. How are you going to pay?”

“It’s not like that, Jane,” Nathan said. “Sam’s fine. She just started her first day working with the _police_ in Detroit. No one’s gonna kidnap her. It’s just…a friend died.”

“I’m so sorry, Nate,” Jane said. “And right after you got back from DC. No wonder you look so awful.”

Nathan rubbed a hand over his face. “Do I?”

“You should go home and rest,” Jane confirmed. “If anything comes up that I can’t take care of, I’ll call you.”

Nathan nodded. “That’s probably a good idea.”

Five minutes later, he had packed up all of his things and was on his way out of the office.

*****

Sam wandered into the bullpen about ten minutes after Hank and Connor returned from lunch.

“Where did you run off to?” Hank asked as she approached his and Connor’s desks.

“I told you,” she said. “I had business to take care of here.”

“It didn’t have anything to do with Nora Gilbert?” he asked.

“What are you talking about?” Sam looked to Connor for clarification, but he was impassive.

“You don’t know a Nora Gilbert?” Hank persisted.

“Should I?” Sam asked.

“Thomas Park was helping to manage an android home for the Nora Gilbert Foundation,” Connor said.

“That’s got nothing to do with me anymore,” Sam said. “They kept the law firm I worked for on a retainer after the revolution, but I wasn’t in charge of dealing with them. As for the name, my family used to have an android named Nora, but she went deviant a long time ago and left us. I haven’t seen her since. I thought about her when I heard of the foundation, but I don’t know for sure.”

“Do you buy this?” Hank asked Connor.

Connor was looking through the files on his computer. “The Gilbert family did report an android named Nora missing in…2034?” He looked at Sam.

Sam shrugged. “I said it was a while ago.”

“If that’s true, that’s one of the first cases of deviancy on the record,” Connor said.

“I think, if you look, you’ll find more around that time,” Sam said. “There was a problem with it in the state of the art androids around that time. But they all belonged to the super rich, who never reported it.”

“Why not?” Hank asked.

“It was too embarrassing,” Sam explained. “There were too many skeletons in those closets. It was easier to just destroy the machine and move on like it never happened.”

“And Nora survived because she escaped?”

“Yes.”

“And she’s using the name Gilbert?”

“So it would seem.”

“Why?” Hank asked with the pleasure of a cat who is toying with a mouse.

“You’ll have to ask her if you ever meet her,” Sam answered. “Now, aside from the fascinating story of my family’s old android, did you learn anything during the victim interview?”

“Sure,” Hank said.

“Which is?” Sam prompted.

“Need to know,” Hank said.

“Yes, and I need to know for my report,” Sam said with growing impatience.

Hank grinned. “We don’t report to you anymore.”

“What?”

“We informed the Captain of your conflict of interest in this case,” Connor said. “Your observation will begin with our next case.”

Sam immediately got up and stormed into Fowler’s office.


	4. Nathan's Idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathan checks in on Midge and Thomas

Despite the manner in which Sam had gone up to the Captain’s fishbowl, the discussion which followed was quiet enough that it could not be heard outside. Sam stood still, with her back to the windows, depriving anyone who had hoped for a show, most notably Hank, of their amusement.

When Sam left the office, she took the route that led away from Hank and Connor’s desks on her path back to the administrative wing of the station. She did not return to the bullpen for the rest of the day.

The next morning, a slender young man with big blue eyes and a naïve smile stood in front of Hank and Connor’s desks when they arrived.

“Fucksake,” Hank groaned as soon as he saw the young man. “Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Isaiah Wren,” he said. “I’m Ms. Gilbert’s assistant.”

“Why’re you here?”

“She sent me to observe you today.”

“I thought she was off the case,” Hank said.

Isaiah’s smile dropped and he tilted his head very slightly to the side. “Oh,” he said after a moment, “you mean the supposed conflict of interest. Ms. Gilbert has agreed to limit her observation to the station until the investigation has moved away from that line of inquiry.”

“If she hasn’t stopped her observation, why isn’t she here?” Connor asked.

“Ms. Gilbert is ill today,” Isaiah said.

“With what?” Hank asked.

“The stomach flu,” Isaiah said.

*****

Jonathan pounded repeatedly on the doorbell at his sister’s house. Nora stood on the other side of the front door.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked, her voice transmitting through a speaker in the sitting room.

Rapunzel turned her wheelchair away from the window with an almost imperceptible movement of her shoulders so that she faced the speaker as if it were Nora herself. “He’s not going to go away if we just leave him standing out there. It’s not winter. Anyway, the sooner I talk to him, the sooner he’s out of our hair. We’ve got meetings today, Nora.”

Nora sighed and opened the door. “Hello, Jonathan. We’ve been expecting you.”

“You—” Jonathan stopped abruptly in the middle of what was going to be an insult. “You, what?”

“Please follow me.” Nora turned and began walking toward the sitting room, leaving Jonathan to follow in a sort of dazed bewilderment. She glided through the halls while he looked around as if it were his first time in the building and scuffed his feet on ramps where he expected to find stairs.

When Nora reached the door to the sitting room, she pushed it open and the corridor was filled with light from a room whose exterior wall was almost entirely glass. She stepped inside but not far enough to let Jonathan in behind her.

“Jonathan Gilbert to see you,” Nora said, all formality.

“Thank you, Nora,” Rapunzel said. “Let him in. You can go relax if you like. I’ll call you when he’s ready to leave.”

Nora stepped aside so that Jonathan could enter the room. Then she left, closing the door behind her. Jonathan watched her go, then turned to stare dumbly at Rapunzel. Her deep amber hair was brushed into a smooth pixie style and her face had been made up in gentle, neutral colors, drawing attention away from the scar that ran up the right side of her face and the way it puller her lips out of symmetry. She wore wide black trousers that were long enough to cover her feet and a short sleeved blouse with a bright, geometric design. Her only jewelry was a tiny emergency call button disguised as a pendant.

“What’s the matter, Jon?” she asked. “You’re staring at me like I’ve grown a third eye.”

“It’s really you, right?” he asked back. “Not some robot dummy they’ve put in your place?”

Rapunzel laughed. “You say the stupidest shit,” she said. “Now, come sit down, you big dumb fish.”

Jonathan visibly relaxed at that and did as he was told, choosing the chair next to which Rapunzel was parked. “You, ah, redecorated,” he commented.

“Since I bought the place, I figured I’d better like it,” Rapunzel replied.

“It’s nice… Rampy.”

“How’s Ella?” Rapunzel asked.

“She’s fine.”

“How’re the kids, um…?”

“Jemma and Andrew. They’re great. Yeah.”

“They must be getting big since I last saw them.”

“Well, Andrew’s three now and Jemma…Jemma just turned five.”

“Five,” Rapunzel repeated. “I suppose that’s what this is about, then.”

“What are you talking about?” Jonathan asked.

“Your daughter just turned five and you’re suddenly knocking on my door and threatening to call the police on my only friend?”

“Are you suggesting that the only reason I came here is because I feel guilty about the accident?” Jonathan asked, tone rising in defensive anger.

“Didn’t you? Don’t you?”

“I’ve been trying to contact you since androids were marching in the streets six months ago,” Jonathan said. “This has nothing to do with my daughter and nothing to do with what happened twenty years ago. You can’t just keep living with one of them. What happens if that Nora decides it wants to kill you?”

“Then she’ll kill me,” Rapunzel said. “But you could ask the same thing about a human nurse. What’s more, a human nurse might do it on accident.”

“You’re not thinking clearly,” Jonathan said. “That android is dangerous. Even Father is saying he wants you to move back home.”

Rapunzel sighed. “You plan a weekend for me to visit and I’ll come without Nora, but if you can’t convince me to stay before the weekend is over, then you promise not to bother me or Nora with this nonsense again.”

“Make it a week and I’ll agree,” Jonathan said.

“A weekend, a week, it won’t matter,” Rapunzel said.

“And you can’t have any contact with Nora at all.”

“Obviously,” Rapunzel said.

“I’ll get a room set up for you and let you know when it’s ready,” Jonathan said eagerly.

“Look at you, all excited,” Rapunzel said. “Let me call Nora to show you out and you can get started right away.”

“I’ll show myself out,” her brother replied. “I don’t want that damned robot anywhere near me.”

“Whatever makes you happy,” Rapunzel said.

Jonathan got up and walked toward the door. “Remember what you promised me, little sis,” he warned as he got to the other side of the room.

“How could I forget?” Rapunzel replied.

Then he was gone and Rapunzel thrust her head against the headrest of her wheelchair in frustration.

*****

“Are you just going to stare at us all day?” Hank asked Isaiah about an hour into his observation.

“That is my intention, yes,” Isaiah said.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?”

Isaiah was silent for a second. “At the moment? No.”

“You know, I kind of think I miss Gilbert right now,” Hank grumbled.

“It is unfortunate that she is ill,” Isaiah agreed.

“I can’t tell if he’s naïve or just stupid,” Hank said to Connor.

“He’s naïve,” Connor asserted without hesitation.

“How can you tell?” Hank asked, giving Isaiah an incredulous once over.

“It is physically impossible for an android to be stupid by human standards,” Connor answered.

Hank chuckled. “And what about by android standards?”

“Well, that’s another story,” Connor said.

“Very funny,” Isaiah said, unamused, “but I’m not leaving no matter how much you abuse me to my face.”

“That’s fine,” Hank said, “‘cause we are. Come on, Connor. Let’s get some lunch.”

“You’ve only been here an hour,” Isaiah said.

“A human’s gotta eat,” Hank said.

Isaiah looked at Connor as if to say, _but you don’t_.

“We can still discuss the case while he’s eating,” Connor explained and then followed Hank out, leaving Isaiah sitting there.

*****

Nathan sighed and then knocked on the door of the newest Android Home the Foundation had set up. Midge answered almost immediately.

“Thank rA9 you’re here,” she said as she stepped back to admit him.

Nathan looked around at the sparse furnishings, clearly still left over from the previous human inhabitants, and thought the place looked horribly shabby. But who was he to judge? The androids knew what they needed better than he did.

“I tried calling Sam, too,” Midge continued, “but she didn’t answer either. I left her a message. I thought she was in Detroit…”

“Sam’s not part of the Foundation anymore,” Nathan said, a little sharply. “You can delete her number.”

“It would have been nice if someone had told _me_ that,” Midge grumbled.

“I just did,” Nathan said. “Where’s Thomas?”

“Upstairs with Kendall. They’re sorting through what the humans left to see what we can repurpose.”

“None of it, if you ask me,” Nathan said with another look around.

Midge rolled her eyes. “ _Humans_ … Anyway, I’ll go get Thomas. The kitchen’s right through there. Make yourself at home.”

Nathan followed the direction Midge had indicated and took a seat at the table. He passed the few minutes it took for Midge to fetch Thomas looking around the room and wondering what androids needed with a kitchen. If it were up to him, and it wasn’t, he would have had the house gutted and remodeled without kitchens or bathrooms or anything else androids didn’t need. Put in some charging ports or something.

When Midge returned with Thomas, he stood. “Hey, Tommy. How you holding up?”

Thomas shrugged.

“I’m sorry about your friends,” Nathan continued. “Midge told me you got hurt, too. Do you mind if I take a look?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Thomas lifted his shirt and retracted the synthetic skin from the site of his injury. Nathan let out a low whistle.

“And that doesn’t hurt?” he asked.

“No,” Thomas answered.

“You really fucked him up good,” Nathan said to Midge.

“What was I supposed to do?” Midge demanded. “He was going to bleed out.”

Nathan shrugged and took out his phone to take pictures of the damage. “I’ll send these to Rapunzel and see what she thinks,” he said. “If anyone can fix this, it’s her. She’s a tech genius like you wouldn’t believe. But if she can fix it, you’ll have to go to Grand Rapids to see her. Is that OK?”

“Perfect,” Thomas said. “If I never see Detroit again, it’ll be too soon.”

Nathan chuckled. “I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”

“Not so fast,” Midge said. “What if the police want to talk to you again?”

“So you talked to the police, then?” Nathan asked.

“Yeah, they showed up at our door a little while after I called you,” Midge said. “Isaiah gave us a heads up, but it’s not like there was anything we could do.”

“ _Isaiah_ did?” Nathan asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“No, nothing. Go on.”

“Well, they showed up, a human cop and an android, and wanted to talk to Thomas. Obviously, I didn’t want to let them but they threatened to get a warrant to search his memory if I didn’t. Can they do that? Is that legal?”

Nathan sighed. “Well, it’s kind of a grey area right now. It’s not ethical, of course, but the law doesn’t protect against it. We’re trying to get that changed, but it doesn’t happen overnight. You said there was an android cop?”

“Yeah, said his name was Connor Anderson.”

“Goddamnit,” Nathan said.

“It’s not _that_ Connor, is it?” Midge asked.

“I’m afraid so.”

Midge shook her head in disappointment. “He’s not what I expected.”

“Well,” Nathan said, “I’d better get going. I’ve got to go make my introductions at DPD now. I sent those photos to Rapunzel and I’ll call you as soon as she tells me anything.” He patted Thomas on the shoulder as he passed him on his way to the kitchen door. “Hang in there, kid.”

*****

Jane frowned at the telephone screen. “You’re sure?” she asked.

“You’re the one who canceled on us,” Simon answered.

“I know,” Jane said, “but it was an emergency. Someone _died_.”

“I’m sorry,” Simon said. “It’s just not possible.”

Jane grimaced at the thought of having to tell Nathan. “I understand. Thank you anyway. You’ve been exceedingly patient. I’m sure we’ll talk again.”

She wished she could read the expression on the android’s face as they said their goodbye’s but he was giving her the blank look that they were so good at, effectively shutting her out of his thoughts. She sat for a moment after the call ended before dialing Nathan.

“Good news, Jane?” Nathan asked without any greeting when he picked up the phone.

“I’m sorry, Nate,” she said. “They couldn’t postpone or reschedule for any time in the near future. Practically said this was the only time they would ever be able to meet you.”

“That’s just how today’s been going,” Nathan said.

“Whatcha wanna do, Boss?” Jane asked, trying to sound lighthearted.

“Jane,” Nathan said sternly.

“Sorry,” she said.

“I’ll think about it and let you know. If you get a call from Rapunzel, tell her to call my cell.”

“Will do,” Jane said.

Nathan hung up.

*****

Isaiah was scanning through documents on his computer when Nathan burst into the office.

“Where is Sam?” he demanded.

“She’s home, sick,” Isaiah answered mildly.

“Don’t give me that bullshit,” Nathan said. “That woman’s never been sick a day in her life. Where is she?”

“Home, sick,” Isaiah repeated.

“Is she hiding because she let her pet project’s investigation get all tied up in Foundation business on her first day?” Nathan went to the door of Sam’s private office and flung open the door, but the office was empty.

“As I said, she’s home, sick,” Isaiah repeated once more.

Nathan stared into the empty office for a few moments, then turned back to Isaiah. “Where is she, really? Is it her sister? Did she fuck off of work because of her sister again?”

“Her relationship with Rapunzel is more complicated than you understand,” Isaiah said.

“I’ve known her a lot longer than you,” Nathan said. “You’re like a fucking toddler in a grown-up body, so don’t tell me what I do and do not understand. Her plastic cop threatened one of the Foundation’s people yesterday, borderline illegally, and she’s hiding out at her sister’s house like a fucking coward.”

“Sam Gilbert is anything but a coward,” Isaiah said indignantly.

“You don’t know jack shit about her,” Nathan said.

“She saved my life,” Isaiah said.

“She saved a lot of lives back in November,” Nathan replied. “So did everyone else in the Foundation. It doesn’t make her a saint.”

“It does to me. Now, leave this office before I have you removed. If Sam has anything to tell you about the investigation when she returns, I’m sure she’ll call you.”

Nathan pulled a face and stalked out of the office. Once outside, he called Jane.

“I just had an idea,” he said. “Do you think Markus Manfred would be interested in meeting Nora Gilbert?”

“Where’d you get that idea?” Jane asked.

“Oh, I was just thinking about Sam and Rapunzel and I guess it brought Nora to mind.”

“She’s never going to say yes,” Jane said. “You know how Nora feels about leaving Rapunzel.”

“Have you ever met Nora in person?” Nathan asked.

“No,” Jane answered.

“Well, just talk to Markus’s people first and _then_ call Nora. You might be surprised.”


End file.
